Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Stock Position Raised by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 36,058 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,060 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $4,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CFR. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 4th quarter worth $69,591,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the fourth quarter worth about $46,223,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 234.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 436,393 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,814,000 after acquiring an additional 305,921 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 13,334.7% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 281,860 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,840,000 after acquiring an additional 279,762 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 4th quarter valued at about $21,181,000. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson lowered shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $132.00 to $120.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cullen/Frost Bankers presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.57.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Up 1.4 %

Cullen/Frost Bankers stock opened at $116.37 on Friday. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.09 and a 1 year high of $147.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $122.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.96. The firm has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.19. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 20.44%. On average, research analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s payout ratio is 42.84%.

Insider Transactions at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.45, for a total transaction of $1,603,675.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 102,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,355,819.70. The trade was a 10.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Company Profile

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Frost Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking services in Texas. The company offers commercial banking services to corporations, including financing for industrial and commercial properties, interim construction related to industrial and commercial properties, equipment, inventories and accounts receivables, and acquisitions; and treasury management services, as well as originates commercial leasing services.